Outcomes from this week’s Trade and Technology Council will be seen as positive, but second or even third best to bilateral and multilateral deals. It is time to reset our evaluation of what are the best trade policy tools.
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Week Ahead: TTC, WTO fish week, CBAM, Northern Ireland, Energy Charter, INTA
We are looking to a big trade policy week. By Chris Horseman, Rob Francis and Iana Dreyer.
Week in Brussels: National Board of Trade in Brussels, Chile, Mexico, Mercosur, China
It’s been a week where, apart from the announcement of a first-ever (but a bit non-committal) digital partnership with Japan, little has happened concretely, but where signals were given that much more could happen in future….. By Rob Francis and Iana Dreyer.
COMMENT: Digital Partnerships in Asia -Pacific: EU needs to be more than non-committal
Is this the European Union’s approach to ‘digital partnerships’ in the Indo-Pacific just fluff? At the very least one can say it is much too timid.
Perspectives: There is no crisis of globalisation but governments might create one
The number of commentaries proclaiming the end of globalisation will probably increase. The expected difficulties of finding consensus at the WTO’s 12th ministerial conference next June will add to these arguments. Cross-border business in fact remains healthy. But uncertainty around future policy choices may have a corrosive effect.
Week Ahead: MC12, EU Japan digital agreement, Northern Ireland, LatAm
This Monday is ‘Europe Day’, so EU institutions will not work today – except those involved in negotiations over the long-awaited sixth sanctions package against Russia while it continues to wage its war on Ukraine. By Chris Horseman, Rob Francis and Iana Dreyer.
Week in Brussels: Russia sanctions, Chile FTA, palm oil
A new week has passed in EU trade policy. Here some highlights. By Rob Francis and Iana Dreyer.
Perspectives: A crisis and an opportunity in agricultural trade
After energy, the most exposed sector to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is food because both countries are among the top global exporters of grains and fertiliser. While this gives further impetus to the ongoing policy debates about supply security and economic resilience in a range of countries, this crisis may …
INTERVIEW – Mirror clauses: EU needs to be collaborative with trading partners
‘Mirror clauses’ are making their way in EU regulations in food production. What are mirror clauses and why are they so controversial? Emily Rees sat down with Borderlex’s Rob Francis to explain what is at stake in the ongoing debate about these measures.
Week Ahead: WTO MC12, Northern Ireland focus, GSP, EU US TTC
Despite this Monday being a bank holiday in many parts of Europe, the policy machinery in Brussels and Geneva will be churning on mightily this week while we wait for the outcome of local elections in the United Kingdom. By Chris Horseman, Rob Francis and Iana Dreyer.
